Hybrid manufacturing technologies require CAD/CAM software.

Microengraving requires balancing cutting tool characteristics and machine capabilities.

Salaries and benefits stagnated before the pandemic, which made matters worse.

CTE used a paid data collection option from SurveyMonkey to gather additional results for the 2020 Benefits and Salary Survey. Get a better understanding of how subscriber results compare with results from the survey service.

Cutting Tool Engineering’s 2020 Benefits and Salary Survey shows that the incomes of many metalworking professionals are stagnant or down slightly.

Effectively milling aluminum requires balancing all elements of a cutting tool.

Ty Miles Inc. specializes in high-speed broaching systems.

When selecting the right tungsten-carbide grade, you need the full picture.

With the arrival of Industry 4.0, a new business model is emerging for how part manufacturers acquire machine tools: equipment as a service (Eaas). Graham Immerman, vice president of marketing for Northampton, Massachusetts-based MachineMetrics Inc., effectively covers this topic in his new 12-page ebook/white paper titled “Equipment-as-a-Service: A Brave New World for Machine Tool Builders.” In an interview with CTE, he said, “Instead of buying a machine and fully financing it or paying cash, you can pay as you use it.”

I received an email from Lynn Fifer, a retired cutting tool professional and CTE reader since 1967, who shared his recollections about the development of the parabolic flute drill. Fifer said the development occurred in 1950s at the old Mohawk Tools Inc., Montpelier, Ohio, well before he started with the toolmaker in 1967.

Look inside Comet Die & Engraving, an Illinois company with an extensive history.

A Wisconsin engraving and texturing shop offers electrode machining and sinker EDMing services.

Electro-permanent magnetic workholders offer multiple advantages — even for nonmagnetic parts.

When making a cutting tool, I tend to think of a drill, endmill or other metalcutting tool being produced on a CNC tool and cutter grinder in a factory. A book by Bradley Richardson, however, describes how to make a different type of cutting tool with manual tools and equipment in a nonproduction environment. Published by Fox Chapel Publishing Co. Inc., Mount Joy, Pennsylvania, “Making Your Own Bush Knife: A Beginner’s Guide for the Backyard Knifemaker,” details the process of creating a custom knife.

Fusion Coolant Systems' Pure-Cut products a safer alternative to metalworking fluids.

Learn the latest on hybrid machine tools, large-scale printed parts and material removal from CTE contributors.

When parts manufacturers enter the world of Industry 4.0, in which their operations are data driven, they will need production control software, such as a program for enterprise resource planning or materials requirement planning. In his new book “How to Implement a Manufacturing System,” Martin Bailey covers the best practices and pitfalls when implementing an MRP/ERP system.

Although the book doesn’t cover machining parts, “Blowout” by Rachel Maddow, host of “The Rachel Maddow Show” on MSNBC, does examine an industry that’s a major consumer of precision machined parts—oil and gas.

Although the title of a book I received a digital review copy of is “Basic Benchwork for Home Machinists,” it contains information that even metalworking professionals might implement on the shop floor or at least enjoy reading.

As manufacturers continue to be challenged by a shortage of skilled workers and the need to boost productivity, automation remains a topic of significant interest. That was certainly the case at the Wisconsin Manufacturing & Technology Show. The biennial trade show took place Oct. 8-10 at the Exposition Center at Wisconsin State Fair Park, West Allis, Wisconsin.

After a bit of a hiatus, I received a new book about metalworking, “Essential Guide to Metals and Manufacturing” by Krishan Katyal. The author is a mechanical engineer who has worked for four decades designing and manufacturing machine tools, consumer appliances, diesel-electric locomotives and heavy concrete construction products for Chicago area companies.

Buying a furnace or an oven to heat treat parts offers advantages compared with outsourcing.

MC Machinery Systems is known as a supplier of Mitsubishi EDMs and laser machines, and Mitsubishi EDM/Laser is prominently displayed on the company’s headquarters in Elk Grove Village, Illinois, but several seminars focused on hard milling and 5-axis machining were presented during its EDM National open house. The event took place Sept. 26.

As additive manufacturing and 3D printing of metal parts continues to make inroads into production environments, the need to efficiently and effectively finish-machine them when typically required gains importance.

Having a tool and cutter grinder in a machine shop provides multiple advantages.

A builder of grinding machines is adding digital services to improve product performance.

Thread milling nickel-base superalloys requires minimizing workhardening.

Tool blanks are printed to make cutters to machine titanium.

Effectively machining titanium alloys requires suitable cutting tools, machine tools and monitoring systems.

Although Microlution Inc. has been based in multiple locations since the builder of micromachining centers was founded in 2005, the company held its first grand opening event June 28 as part of GF Solutions Days USA 2019. The first location for Chicago-based Microlution, which has operated as a subsidiary of GF Machining Solutions since 2016, was in Andy Phillip’s apartment in Champaign, Phillip said. He is one of the company’s founders and now head of laser micromachining.

My latest trip took me to Las Vegas, where I attended HxGN LIVE 2019. Hosted by Sweden-headquartered Hexagon AB, the ninth biennial conference took place June 11-14 at the Sands Expo & Convention Center adjacent to The Venetian and The Palazzo resorts, and I participated in the Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence division’s media program.

Toolmaker launched its coatings division a year ago with a $2.2M investment.

In connection with the Ceratizit Open Days 2019 press event May 13-15, I visited several of the cutting tool manufacturer’s German facilities (in Stuttgart, Balzheim and Kempten), as well as Ceratizit Reutte in Breitenwang, Austria. The Luxembourg-based Ceratizit Group has combined its Ceratizit, Komet, WNT and Klenk brands under the name Team Cutting Tools.

Various apprenticeship programs are available to connect the gap between the skills that parts manufacturers need and the ones job seekers offer.

Shops make big moves becoming specialists when manufacturing hefty parts.

In response to my Lead Angle column in the April 2019 issue about machining large parts and my attraction to vintage machine tools, I received the following email from Chuck Oloffson, a CAD detailer and former CNC and manual machinist.

Based on the high level of traffic and activity that I saw at Automate 2019 combined with a U.S. unemployment rate of just under 4%, my hunch is that robot manufacturers will report impressive sales figures this year. This guestimate is a result of a conversation I had with Joseph Gemma, CEO of division industries – Americas for KUKA Robotics Corp., Shelby Township, Michigan. According to Gemma, as the unemployment rate decreases, robot sales increase. He emphasized that automation is changing jobs—not taking them away.

Remanufacturing a machine tool can make it perform better than when it was initially built.

L.S. Starrett's precision tool education manager offers the latest trends and developments in surface roughness measurement.

Using handmade tools and automated machines, Baltimore-based artist Chris Bathgate crafts precise elements that assemble into complex sculptures.

Camcraft added a flexible manufacturing system to enhance the spindle utilization of its horizontal machining centers.

One of the best parts of my job is visiting factories where metal parts are machined. In connection with the feature article I wrote for our April issue about machining large parts, I traveled to Romulus, Michigan, and visited Lincoln Park Boring Co.

A metal blisk or heat exchanger component can certainly be aesthetically pleasing, but those and the vast majority of other machined metal parts serve a practical function first and foremost. The metal parts Chris Bathgate machines don’t.

I haven’t received any books about manufacturing lately, but a PDF of the new book “Rock Stars at Home” landed in my inbox, so I read it.

Get an overview of a grinding process monitoring and diagnostics system.

Shop Operations: Safety the key to humans and robots working together.

As the cover indicates, the February issue will include a focus on automation. In addition to Contributing Editor Kip Hanson’s cover story about automating CNC lathes, I wrote about the productivity gains Camcraft Inc. is realizing after installing a Makino Machining Complex (MMC2) flexible manufacturing system.

Talking Shop: Get an insider's view of our industry in this Q and A with AB Sandvik Coromant's Global President Nadine Crauwels.

Lead Angle: Editor Alan Richter chats with economic authorities in the aerospace, automotive and energy industries to find out what's coming next year.

Economic experts say that growth will rise but less briskly than it did this year.